A leaked Cabinet Office list has revealed that nearly 180 quangos are facing abolition as part of the coalition government's bid to cut public spending.
The new list - published by the Telegraph - has outlined a further 94 that could still be abolished and 129 that will be merged. However, 350 other non-government agencies have been saved.
Among the quangos to be closed are Cycling England; the Inland Waterways' Advisory Council; and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
The UK Film Council and the Zoos Forum are also to be shut, while British Waterways is to become a mutual organisation. The Tote Board is to be privatised.
Government plans will also see a single heritage agency absorb the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF); the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and English Heritage.
Sport England, UK Sport and the Football Licensing Authority will be incorporated into a new single sport agency, while the National Lottery Commission and Gambling Commission will also merge.
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is one of the agencies still under review, as well as the Horseracing Levy Board, Historic Royal Palaces and the Forestry Commission.
National Museums and Galleries, which includes 18 bodies such as the Imperial War Museum, the National Gallery and the Natural History Museum, also faces an uncertain future.
Other quangos under review include: the National Army Museum; the National Forest Company; the National Museum of the Royal Navy; Natural England' the Royal Air Force Museum; the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew; VisitBritain and VisitEngland.
However, the groups set to remain include Arts Council England; the Big Lottery Fund; the Horserace Betting Levy Appeal Tribunal; the Olympic Delivery Authority; the Olympic Lottery Distributor and UK Anti Doping.
Responding to the leaked list, HLF and NHMF chief executive Carole Souter said: "No formal proposals have yet been made. Once they have, we look forward to discussing them with all those concerned.
"In the meantime, we would like to assure all our applicants that it is 'business as usual' and money set aside for any HLF project currently underway is absolutely safe. With £50m more to spend from 2012-13, it would be terrible if this speculation led people to abandon their plans to apply for our Lottery funding."
Image: The Imperial War Museum – part of National Museums and Galleries, the future of which remains under review. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, however, is to be shut
